St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-09-24
PRETTY MEN.
Their Scarcity in This World and the
Reason for it.

Their Scarcity in This World and the
Reason for it.
While the 'late unpleasantness" was in
progress the General Convention of the
Episcopal Church met at Philadelphia 1t
CHANGED that one evening Bishop Clark, of
Rhode Island, one of the handsOmest and
most eloquent of prelates, preached the ser
mon in old St. Andrews Church, and Bishop
Williams, of Connecticut, now the presiding
bishop of his church, read the service. The
two prelates were New England men and had
been chums for many years. As they walked
from the church to their hotel at the conclu-
sion of the services they overlook two aged
crones who had been at St. Andrews and
had evidently taken stock of both preacher
and sermon. Their comments were dis
tinctly audible, and they were criticising the
preacher. "Ain't he the coolest man ~ said
one YES, and amt he the lookingest
man p replied the other. 1t was too much
for the auditors. Bishop Williams nudged
his brother of Rhode Island in the ribs, and
the latter broke into laugh which so startled
the critics that they made haste toturn down
a side street and vanish. Yet they had shown
their appreciation of good looks in bishop
the woman of the period scans with critical
eye the face and form of the man she chances
to meet.
American women are deservedly distin-
guished for their beauty, and the notable
point about our bellies is that their beauty is
of so many and so varied kinds, so that one
type perpetually stands out in lovely con-
trast to the other. There is nothing monot-
onous or wearisome about it as in the swarthy
daughter of Italy, the dark-eyed Spanish
senorita and the blue-eyed and golden-haired
Scandinavian. Ours is mixed race, in which
the blood of English, French, Spanish,
Saxon, Norman and Dane are mingled with
oil otb n Tifv 11nIor bo
A pretty woman in our country does not con-
slider herself as anything uncommon. She
knows there are hundreds of others who have
equally strong claims to beauty, and so sheis
content with the admiration she excites and
the love she wins.
often that a really handsome man is seen.
There are wholesome, stalwart. good-looking
scions of the American stock presentable
enough in the drawing-room or on horse
back-though, for the most part, the repre-
sentatives of our rich and would-be aristo-
cratic families are understood weaklings-but
man Of faultless face and perfect figure is
rarity. The consequence is that where there
is man whom society would call handsome
and the schoolgirls style "a pretty man. he
is apt to be altogether too conscious of his
distinction and ridiculously conceited. Wo-
men fatter him and feed his vanity, for
handsome fellow will be "pretty" in their
of ten his head becomes emptied of every
thing but selfconceit and yacuity, and he
naturally becomes SO arrogant and ill-man-
nered as ito be insuferable. Then follows
reaction. He is dubbed a coxcomb or a
puppy, and feminine beauty shakes its head
at him and proclaims that he is ''in love with
himself and without rival.'
The man who is merely handsome is to be
pitied. He neyer attains any eminence be-
yond that which his physical attractions
bring him. Like the flower of the field he
springs up for day, and like the flower of
the field he has his day and dies. A BARRIERS
block would do as much good as he, for his
one fatal gift of beauty has been destructive
to his manhood Better to have less of
beauty and more of wit-less of style and
more of grit. The woman who finds this out
will be much more apt to get good hus-
band than the girl who looks merely to the
outside. 1t may be well enough to capture
the "lookingest" man, provided always that
he is also the "goodest.''
The portrait of Lord Byron by DOrsay, in
March, 1923, at Genoa, gives wonderfully
handsome profile view of his face. It is the
best likeness ever taken of the poet Shelley
had spiritually handsome face. Sir Robert
Peel was exceedingly handsome. The late
Vice President Breckenridge was also very
handsome, and so was the late poet, essayist
and border chronicler, Judge Meek, of Ala
bama. The merely pretty man has more
femininity than masculinity. The law of
creation is masculine, having within itself
feminine law which is an exception to the
rule. The males are created under the gen
eral rule, the females under the exception,
and, therefore, the9 are equity productions
OF q liner order. Pretty men come very near
Tnt II.